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Job wanted: Newlywed, 48, who manages Saladworks seeks new gig

Reuben Amaro expects to file for unemployment by the end of next month - or in early March.

Reuben Amaro expects to file for unemployment by the end of next month - or in early March.

That's when the Saladworks in the Gallery will close for renovations at the Center City mall.

Amaro, 48, has twice been manager of the restaurant, for a total of seven years.

"I'm looking at unemployment for now," said the man with almost the same name as the Phillies' general manager. (The baseball Amaro spells his first name Ruben.)

Amaro found out when he returned to work Dec. 16 - three days after his wedding - that the restaurant was shutting down for as long as two years.

"I'd just spent all my savings on the wedding," he said, "and I've already prepaid for our honeymoon." The newlyweds plan to go to Florida in August.

Amaro knew that some of the stores in the Gallery were closing.

"But I thought we'd be moved to another part of the Gallery while they worked on the renovations," he said. "I was planning on running this place after the owner retires."

Amaro, a friendly guy with a pleasant personality, met his new wife on the job because she's a regular lunch customer. He also got a job offer months ago from a would-be employer.

"He was saying, 'I like how you handle yourself and how you talk to people,' " Amaro recalled.

But his boss, who has owned the Gallery Saladworks for 21 years, interrupted and told the man, "Hey, he works for me."

Originally from New York, Amaro was 8 when his family came to Philly. At 29, he moved to New Mexico to work in the oil fields as a "swabbing operator."

That meant he had to clear out pipelines if they got clogged with either water, oil, or gas.

At 42, he came back to Philly when his mother fell ill.

Now, he's a new husband who is looking for work.

"We're still hopeful," Amaro said yesterday. "We have faith in God."

But Amaro doesn't expect God to do it all. If he can't find a better-paying job, he said: "I'll do whatever it takes, whatever I can do, even if it means taking a minimum-wage job."